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Thursday, June 18, 2009
"No Contract, No Peace" City Workers Chant At Love Park Rally

Despite the rain, LOVE Park was packed this afternoon with more than a thousand union workers. "No contract, no peace," roared the crowd, mostly made up of members from the city's two non-uniform unions -- District Council 33 and District Council 47.

The contracts for all four municipal unions expire June 30. Mayor Nutter has said he needs $125 million in contract savings over the next five years to balance the budget. Union leaders today said they weren't taking it.

"Every working person is under attack today," said District Council 33 President Pete Matthews.

Elected officials on stage with union leadership included Council members Janie Blackwell and Curtis Jones Jr. Former City Controller Jonathan Saidel acted as master of ceremonies.

Posted by Catherine Lucey @ 5:41 PM  Permalink | 31 comments
Comments   
Posted 05:55 PM, 06/18/2009
jarhead
After reading this story--it makes me so glad and thankful that I live in a Right To Work state. These people are public employees who enjoy benefits and protections that others do not. They are paid by public taxes. As such, they should not have the right to threaten " no contract, no peace". I could settle this whole issue with two words--" you're fired".., Reagan did it with the Air Traffic Controllers, I could do it with city employees.
Posted 06:25 PM, 06/18/2009
feltonville
No work...no pay. Welcome to the economic reality that is Philadelphia in 2009. Thank your lucky stars that you even have a job, and get back to it. And please...the tired old "no [whatever], no peace" noise went out with bellbottoms...
Posted 06:29 PM, 06/18/2009
MsLou
I don't think the workers should be fired. Just very careful in this economy and willing to negotiate when necessary. Be very grateful they are still working.
Posted 06:30 PM, 06/18/2009
CleanupPhilly
Yeah, it's "no contract, no pay." The city can hire nonunion workers in the interim and for the duration. Taxpayers in the city support that, and if the unions want to act like criminals, then they'll be chanting from the jail.
Posted 06:31 PM, 06/18/2009
CleanupPhilly
"No gravy, no peas." Please.
Posted 08:37 PM, 06/18/2009
KG071
"Be very grateful they are still working". It is very obvious that these workers are NOT "very grateful" at all with the fact that they actually have a job to go to. They want more, more, more, always asking, always demanding, more from the City and its taxpayers. NEVER willing to concede anything. They feel it is theri right to have the City pay for all of their Helath benefits as well as any retirment benefits while the rest of us, pay into such things. These dopes could care less that they are robbing the City of any money that it has. They should all be fired immediately and replaced with non-union workers who will TRULY be grateful for having a job and making a decent living wage. I hope a few of those idiots actually come on here and read these postings; would love to hear what any of them have to say for themselves. See how they try asnd justify their actions today of the "no contract, no peace" chants. Bums, each and every one of them. unions had their time but their effectiveness has gone and its BEEN gone for quite a few years. Now, it is just greed, plain and simple greed.
Posted 08:41 PM, 06/18/2009
nebulus
Can't hire non-union workers to replace union workers. Rules prohibit it. If you are hired by the city to do the work the option is yours to join the union unless you are high enough up the management chain. Some state and federal laws require (mandate) that certain government jobs be performed ONLY by government employees and cannot be contracted out. What can be done is sit down with union reps and earnestly negotiate and not use the paper as teh bargaining table. The city could present its plan to capture all those delinquent tax revenues that you are always writing about. While not enough to avoid concessions by employees backs the city will have demonstrated that it is determined to do all that it can to get all the revenue it is supposed to be getting. The city could acknowledge that it is incompetent to run any health and welfare fund for any of its employees and seek union help in how to improve benefits without incurring new costs. DC47 members enjoy a higher level of medical benefit - yes with co-pays - than the non-union employees in the city but at the same cost to taxpayers (non-union employees contribute more per pay and pay higher co-pays for city provided health care which is funded by taxpayers at the same level as the union fund.).
Posted 08:55 PM, 06/18/2009
dreinterests
Pete Matthews is right, workers are under attack...by city unions. be reasonable. 401ks for new hires? what's the big deal? you've been picking our pockets for decades, get back to work or don't come back at all.
Comment removed.
Posted 10:17 PM, 06/18/2009
give me liberty or death
i say not only no peace for these bums but no jobs either. Jerry Garcia said it best "beat it on down the line" i am sure the jobs can be filled with people that will not only do it better, cheaper and definitely with better attitudes. who needs them and their idle threats. did this rally take place at lunch and if so the leeches have better not have been late getting back to work. all of them are BUMS. the nerve to act like this in this type of economic environment tells you everything you need to know about these people, if you can call them that.
Posted 10:20 PM, 06/18/2009
Philly Phorever
Unions have no power any more. Period. Pathetic protest by the way - nobody there.
Posted 10:58 PM, 06/18/2009
nebulus
I am certainly not a yoga queen. I work for a living. And I am not a union drone. Not even a city employee. But I can read account sheets and payrolls and benefits packages. And I do understand that this mayor is not interested in managing our money at all. He just wants face time and good press. If he were really interested in managing the money then all the deadbeats would be coughing up the money they owe the city and we would not have a reduced fire department (a company was closed near my home) not threats to the library system in a city with poor educational resources. Oh yeah, and the unions would be minus a great deal of support because the city would be well managed. Like the union employee, I would like to see this mayor do his job. I would just like to see the the tax payer money (our money) better managed.
Comment removed.
Comment removed.
Posted 05:45 AM, 06/19/2009
Philly Phorever
Joe - are you a D committee person? Saidel would have been a disaster, unless we wanted a Mayor who did stand up comedy. Nebulus - the Mayor is managing our money better than any Mayor in recent history, including Rendell. Times are really, really tough and this fiscal crisis is for real.
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About Chris Brennan and Catherine Lucey
PhillyClout
Chris Brennan, a native Philadelphian and graduate of Temple University, joined the Daily News in 1999. He has written about SEPTA, the Philadelphia School District, the legalization of casino gambling, state government, the mayor, the governor, City Council and political campaigns.

Catherine Lucey joined the Daily News in 2002. Since then she has written about murderous drug gangs, political protesters and Harry Potter. For the past two years, she covered the 2007 mayoral election. Now that the battle is over, she has moved down to the City Hall bureau where she will report on the Nutter administration.
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